


A Plan

by Jestana



Series: February Ficlet Challenge 2020 [12]
Category: National Treasure (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Don't copy to another site, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:33:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22684042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jestana/pseuds/Jestana
Summary: Sealing the Breach is going to be difficult.
Relationships: Emily Appleton/Patrick Gates
Series: February Ficlet Challenge 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620979
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1
Collections: February Ficlet Challenge 2020





	A Plan

**Author's Note:**

> Written for February Ficlet Challenge 2020: Quantum Leap Year, the prompts were 'Crossover with another fandom on the list/fandom of your choice' or 'making your own traditions'.
> 
> I've had this crossover in mind for a couple years now. This was the perfect opportunity to start writing it. I have much more in mind, but there's no way I could write the whole thing in a single day. Keep in mind that Riley was orphaned during a kaiju attack and Patrick and Emily adopted him as a second son.

_"I hate to rush you two, but I'd like you to meet me in the K-science lab once you're out of your Drivesuits and cleaned up."_ Peter's words, combined with his earnest expression, convinced Patrick and Emily to hurry through their usual post-Drift routine.

Instead of tumbling into bed, and _then_ showering, they skipped straight to showering. Clean and dressed, Patrick and Emily headed down to the K-science lab. Even just a couple days after her arrival, Abigail had imposed some order on the chaos that had previously reigned. Ben's kaiju samples were neatly labeled and stored in boxes and tanks on one side of the room. Computers and blackboards lined the other side of the room. Ben stood at a dissecting table, elbow deep in a fresh specimen. Riley had his back to the room, headphones stuffed into his ears, and hunched over the laptop balanced on his crossed legs, typing rapidly. Abigail stood on a step stool before the largest blackboard, scrawling away with a piece of chalk. Peter waited near the back of the room, hands clasped behind his back as he watched the three at work. He turned slightly at their arrival and nodded. Ben looked up and smiled. "Mom, Dad. Still alive?"

"Still alive," Patrick and Emily answered in unison, walking over to join him.

Even as he leaned down so Emily could kiss his cheek, Ben kept his messy hands well away from them. She cupped Ben's face in her hands. "You look tired, Ben. Have you rested at all?"

"I'll sleep later." He tapped the sample in front of him. "You know me, Mom. I can't sleep with fresh samples to study."

"We're happy to oblige," Patrick told him wryly.

Chuckling, Ben turned his attention back to his work. Patrick and Emily then crossed the room to Riley's side. His hunched shoulders slowly relaxed and dropped as they simply waited, quiet and patient. When he was ready, he removed his headphones and set his laptop aside so he could turn and hug them. They hugged him back, reassuring him that they were still alive, that he hadn't lost them like he'd lost biological parents. Reassured, Riley gently pulled back and they let him go. When they turned back, Peter cleared hist throat. "Dr. Chase, you have the floor."

"Huh?" Abigail peered over shoulder at them. "Oh, welcome back, Patrick, Emily. Just one moment." She turned to the blackboard and finished whatever calculation she'd been writing. "Okay, so you already know about my prediction regarding the frequency of the kaiju attacks."

Patrick nodded. "Yes, that was the subject of your dissertation."

"Right." Abigail climbed down off the step stool and set the chalk down, dusting her hands off the next moment. "What I didn't have access to until coming here was information about the Breach." She patted a stack of papers on the desk near the blackboard.

Peter's voice was as dry as chalk dust when he answered, "For good reason, Dr. Chase."

"I know, Marshall. It wasn't an accusation, just a statement of fact," Abigail explained, moving to a computer and opening a program. "We've attempted to seal the Breach, but nothing's worked."

They nodded and Emily told her, "Yes, because it only opens to let a kaiju through. The moment it's here, the Breach closes and doesn't open against until the next incursion."

"My thought was to drop a bomb into the Breach _during_ an incursion," Abigail told them, playing a slideshow to demonstrate what she meant. "The bomb explodes inside the Breach and collapses it from within."

Peter looked thoughtful, stroking his chin. "We'll only get one chance to do it, so we'd have to use a pretty powerful bomb."

"The most powerful bombs we have are nuclear bombs," Riley pointed out, arms wrapped around his drawn-up knees. "And they're all carefully controlled."

Even without the lingering effects of the Drift, Patrick knew who came to Emily's mind, even if she didn't say it aloud: Mitch Wilkinson. His voice calm, Peter asked, "Provided I can get hold of a bomb, when would you say would be the best time to deliver our present, as it were?"

"Unfortunately, the best time would be when it will open for a multiple event," she told them apologetically. "With more than one kaiju coming through, the Breach will have to stay open longer, which will give us more time to 'deliver' the bomb."

Patrick winced and sensed Emily do the same. He'd read Abigail's dissertation and the double event she'd predicted was _months_ away. Inexplicably, Peter _smiled_. "Since your predicted time for that is months away, it gives us plenty of time to secure a bomb and prepare teams to approach the Breach."

"You don't mean you're taking her suggestion _seriously_ are you?" Ben gestured to the boards covered with incomprehensible equations in white chalk.

Peter, Patrick, and Emily turned to him curiously. Arms folded across his chest, Peter asked, "Okay, what is your objection, Ben?"

"Unfortunately, Dr. Chase can't guarantee that her plan will work," Ben pointed out, still working away. "Math can only get you so far. The best chance she can give you is 95%, just to err on the side of caution."

Abigail reluctantly nodded. "There is a chance that I'm wrong, but there always is. I'm not infallible, after all."

"Well, we're going to drop a bomb in the Breach regardless. I want all three of you to come up with plans for getting the bomb in there ASAP." Peter looked at Ben apologetically. "95% chance is still pretty high."

Nodding to the room in general, Peter turned on his heel and left. Abigail looked quite pleased with herself. Riley broke the silence that had descended. "One of the jaegers will have to carry the bomb to the Breach. Whichever one it is will have to detonate it, too."

"They probably wouldn't survive, either," Ben added, looking grim.

The pleased look disappeared and all color drained from Abigail's face. "Mein Gott." She turned to stare at her board of calculations.

"Don't forget the human factor," Patrick told her quietly.

Emily nodded, resting a hand on Abigail's arm. "You're not dealing with abstract puzzles anymore, dear. All these calculations will have some sort of impact not just on everyone here, but on people all over the world."

Deciding they'd made their point, Patrick and Emily said their good-byes and left for their quarters. They needed rest more than anything else at the moment.


End file.
